Chapter 337

Tessa’s POV

“What do you mean she was taken, Mulligan?” I asked through my teeth, panic slamming into my chest. How could it be possible that someone was taken from the vampire academy? Don’t they have maximum security or something? I know it’s not a prison or anything, but they certainly treat it like it is.

My eyes wandered over to see Joseph was on the stage. He was busy talking about his career and the next book he’s writing which is scheduled to be released in a couple of months. He already started to promote it and his fans are excited to read his next book.

Everybody at the banquet was eager to ask him questions. He looked to be in his element despite keeping himself out of the public eye for so many years. I understood why he did it; he didn’t want people to know what he looked like so that changing his identity later in life would be easy. Joseph is immortal, which means he doesn’t age and doesn’t die. After a while, people will start to find that suspicious so it’s easier if he keeps a low profile.

Now that he is on the public radar, I wasn’t sure what he was going to do. But he didn’t seem too worried about it. He smiled and spoke with such grace that my heart skipped a beat. I would have been more entranced by his speech if it weren’t for Mulligan on the other end of the phone telling me something that is turning my entire world upside down.

Now the multiple missed calls from Carter and the few from Bernard were starting to make sense. I’m sure Carter was freaking out about this. Rightfully so.

“We aren’t sure how she broke out and who has her. But there were some signs of struggle in her bedroom. A lot of things have been broken. Her roommate wasn’t there. She was the one who saw the mess and reported it. That’s why we need Joseph,” Mulligan answered.

“Is there security footage or something?” I asked him.

“Everything was wiped clean,” Mulligan told me.

My heart sank further into my stomach, and I thought I was going to get sick.

I looked around to find Amelia, but she was nowhere to be seen. My frown deepened as I continued to search the perimeter. Penny was nowhere to be seen as well. My eyes found Joseph’s and he was watching me curiously while he continued to deliver his speech.

“Ruby’s blood was found at the scene of the crime,” Mulligan continued. “According to the headmaster, she was one of the best students he’s ever had. He’s not sure why someone would want to take her.”

A nasty feeling formed in the pit of my stomach and realization dawned on me.

I needed to find Amelia right away.

“I have to go,” I told him in a hurry. “I will make sure Joseph gets the message.”

I hung up before Mulligan could say anything more. I quickly rushed through the crowd of people, trying to get a glimpse of Amelia, but she wasn’t anywhere. I accidentally bumped straight into Megan who scowled at me.

“What is wrong with you, Tessa? Are you trying to ruin this event?” She asked, her eyes narrowed.

“Where’s Pen… uh… Eevee?” I asked, stumbling over my words.

Megan’s brows pinched together.

“Why?” She asked, skeptically.

I bit my lower lip, trying to figure out what to say.

“I wanted to apologize for my behavior earlier,” I settled on.

Megan raised her brows as she searched my face, probably trying to figure out if I was being truthful or not. She thought about it for a moment before she finally relented and nodded.

“I believe she went to the bathroom,” Megan finally told me, pointing in the direction of the hallway that led to the bathrooms.

“Perfect. Thank you,” I said, quickly turning and scurrying in that direction.

My heart was hammering me in the chest because I wasn’t sure what I was going to find. I burst through the doors and ran as fast as could down the hallway and towards the bathroom. The sign pointed to around the corner, so I ran, only to stop short when I heard familiar voices and what sounded like a woman sobbing.

“Take it, just don’t hurt her. Please…”

“It’s not personal, Amelia. It’s just business. I need the last crystal, but I also need a witch to perform the spell. Which is where you come in. Do this for me and I’ll make sure your daughter is returned to you safely.”

The sobbing continued and my heart shattered in my chest.

“I will do whatever you want, just leave my daughter alone… please,” Amelia cried.

Just as I rushed around the corner, I watched in horror as Amelia removed her necklace and handed it over to Penny.

“No!!!” I screamed.

They both turned to me, Amelia in horror and Penny with a wide smile on her face like she had just won the lottery.

Amelia’s eyes were red and puffy; I never thought she would shed a tear in her life, but here she was, crying over her daughter. It was obvious now that Penny was the one who took Ruby from the school. She was using Ruby to get what she wanted out of her mother.

Now Penny officially had the last shard, and she had a witch to perform the spell.

“I’m so sorry,” Amelia cried. “But she has my daughter.”

Before I could utter a word, smoke appeared in front of them, blinding me from sight. I closed my eyes to keep the smoke from getting into them. Just as predicted, the smoke detectors went off and the sprinkler system doused the entire building. I felt the cold water soaking through my clothes and hair. But I didn’t care; all I cared about was Ruby and the fact that she was in danger. We were all in danger now that Penny had the last shard.

That’s how she must have gotten the crystals from the others too; she blackmailed them and made it impossible to say no.

I heard screaming coming from the banquet hall, but I stood frozen in place, staring at the spot where Amelia and Penny once were. Once the smoke cleared, they were both gone.

After a few moments, finally made me turn back and run towards the banquet hall. I’m sure the entire place was destroyed by the sprinkler system. My suspicions were proven correct when I ran straight into Joseph upon running around the corner; he was completely soaked from head to toe.

“Tessa? What happened?” He asked, grabbing my shoulders and forcing me to look at him.

I hadn’t realized I was crying until I made my gaze meet his and saw his distorted features.

“She has the last crystal,” I told him, my voice quivering. “She also has Ruby.”

“What?” He asked, his eyes narrowed.

“She broke Ruby out of the academy, Joseph. She has Ruby and she used her to get to Amelia. I watched Amelia give Penny the crystal and then they left. Penny is winning and there’s nothing I can do about it or Ruby’s life is at stake.”

Joseph wrapped me in his arms.

“I’m not going to let anything happen to her,” he said with finality. “It’s going to be okay. Let’s get you out of there. We will return home to change and come up with a game plan. Then, we will head to the academy and figure out how the fuck Ruby was taken.”

I nodded as I handed him his phone, which I still held firmly in my hands.

“You might want to call Carter back,” I warned him. “He’s probably freaking out.”

Joseph glanced at his call log and his face visibly paled as he cursed under his breath.

He took my hand, and we ran through the inside rain and out one of the emergency exits before anyone could spot us.

“Pull the car around back,” Joseph ordered his driver on the phone.

Within minutes, a black car was pulling up in front of us and Joseph was opening the back seat for me to get in. He slid in beside me and ordered the driver to take us home right away.

He then pressed the phone to his cheek. It was quiet enough that I could hear the person on the other end clearly.

“Where the fuck have you been?!” Carter asked. “Ruby is gone. Her blood was found in her room, and everything was trashed. Security cameras were wiped clean.”

“Yeah, we know. We will be heading there as soon as we can. We think it was Eevee who took her,” Joseph told me.

“No, we know it was Eevee who took her,” I said through my teeth. “I heard her saying it. She’s using Ruby as bait to get what she wants out of her mother. She has the last crystal, Carter.”

“Shit,” Carter cursed. “Well, we brought Nathan while we investigated because there was no way Eevee could get in and out of the school undetected with a new vampire. It’s impossible. Plus, the cameras were wiped clean; she’d need someone on the inside to help her do that.”

“Nathan?” I asked, confused.

“Nathan can tell if someone is lying,” Joseph explained. “Till this day we aren’t sure if it’s a goddess-given gift, or if he’s just really talented. But he used to help with the detectives before he was a vampire. If anyone could find out who isn’t being truthful, it’s Nate.”

“Good to know,” I said, nodding my approval. “What did he find out?” I asked, loud enough for Carter to hear.

“There’s only one person who wasn’t being truthful,” Carter said, his voice turning growly and angry.

“Who?” I urged impatiently.

“The headmaster.”